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 BOHEMIANS

620

BOHEMIANS

of 20,369; an increase of 22S over the pre\'ious year. In Sunday schools there were 9,666 pupils under 1 ,156 officers and teachers, a total membership of 10.822, against 11.012 in the preceding year, implying a loss of 187. — Receipts from all sources; 31 December,

1906, $145,517.67; a decrease of $8,006.19 on 1905. Expenses exactly balance receipts. In the Southern Proi-ince of America there were on the 1st of January,

1907, 3,703 communicants, 320 non-communicants, l,S19children; total, 5,842. Sunday schools contained 3,883 pupils, 323 officers and teachers; total, 4,206.— Total membership in both provinces: 26,211 against 25,877 in 1906— an increase of 334.

In Great Britain mjd Ireland, the Moravian Church niunbered on the 31st of December, 1906, 41 congre- gations, with a total membership of 6,343; an increase of 211 on 1905; 5,072 pupils attended Sunday schools, ■with 568 teachers; there were also 213 pupils, with 5 teachers, in 5 day schools, and 305 scholars, with 38 teachers, in 5 boarding schools.

The German Province, 31 December, 1905, had 25 congregations, with total membership of 7,958, of w-hom 5,795 were communicants; 50 missionary centres ministered to about 70,000 persons (the "Diaspora").

The Mission Fields of the Moravians: In North America, Labrador, begun 1771; Alaska, 1885; Cali- fornia, 1890. — In Central America, Mosquito Coast, 1849. — In South America, Surinam, 1735, Demerara, 1878. — In the West Indies, Jamaica, 1754; St. Thomas, 1732, St. Jan, 1754; St. Croix, 1740; Antigua, 1756; St. Ivitts, 1777; Barbadoes, 1765; Tobago, 1790; Trinidad, 1890. — In Africa, Cape Colony, East and West, 1736; German East Africa, 1891.— In Asia, West Himalaya, 1853; Jerusalem, Leper House, 1867. — In Aus'traha, Victoria, 1849; North Queens- land, 1891. The work is carried on by 470 missionaries of wliom 76 are natives. Bohemia and Moravia are also coimted among the mission fields. The mission work there, hke that of the foreign missions, is a joint undertaking of all the Provinces of the Church. In December, 1905, the total membership was 984; in- come (of which £111 was from the British Province), £1761, 16/4; outlay, £1,991, 10/9.

C-\siER.\Rius, Historica narratio de Fratrum orthodoxorum ecflfsiis in Botiemid, Alorai'id. et Polonid (Frankfort, 1625); BoROwf, s, V. Bruder, Bohmische in Kirchenlex,, 11; H.\milton. A History of the Morai'ian Church, or the Unilas Fratrum (Beth- lehem. Pa., 1900); Waver, The Beainnings of the Brethren's Church in England (Baildon, near Shipley, Yorks. 19011; The Moravian (official organ of the N. Prov. of the Unitas Fratrum in .\merical; The Moravian Messenf/er. — See also Bibliography prefixed to Schweinitz, History of the Vnitas Fratrum.

J. WiLHELM.

Bohemiaxis of the United States, The. — A traveller who has seen the natural beauties of Bo- hemia, its vast resources, and the thrift of its people, will, no doubt, be surprised at the comparatively

freat number of persons who have emigrated to the "nited States of America. The causes for this are political, religious, and economical. Religious dis- sensions at the beginning of the seventeenth centviry induced many to leave their native country and even to cross tlie ocean. The religious revolution stirred up by the preachings and teachings of John Hus gave birth to several religious sects in Bohemia, the suppression of which, after the battle of White Mountain near Prague (1620), caused many to emi- grate to other countries and several even as far as America. Of the latter August;fn HeiTnan (d. 1692) and Frederick Filip (d. 1702) are the most important from an historical standpoint. Herman must have been a man of good education, for Governor Stuy- vesant. of New Amsterdam, entrusted him with many important missions. He made the first map of the State of Maryland, of which one copy is still preserved in the British Museum and another at Richmond, in the archives of the State of Virginia. Herinan always publicly professed his nationality. The sec-

ond of these Bohemian emigrants, Filip, or Phi- lipps as he is commonly known, was likewise a man of prominence and his descendants played no small part in the development of New Amsterdam. He was buried in the cemetery of Sleepy Hollow, near Tarrytown, New York. Though historical proof is lacking, without doubt many other Bohemians, of similar religious con\'ictions, emigrated to this coun- try at the same time. Their families either died out, or, as is more probable, were entirely assimilated by the American people so that they have left no trace. Of late years emigration from Bohemia has been chiefly caused by political conditions. Many Bohe- mian patriots, especially during the stormy year of 1848, sought refuge beyond the sea to evade the consequences of patriotic zeal, as the courts showed little mercy to those accused of political crimes. A similar state of affairs existed later on when the reins of the Austrian Government pa.ssed into the hands of the enemies of Bohemia, who punished every patriotic act as high treason to Austria. These political conditions, coupled with the Austro-Prussian war of 1866, in which Bohemia suffered great loss of life and property, forced many to seek their fortunes in the land of freedom. The greater number of emigrants, however, came to this country on account of poverty, brought on, for the most part, by the failure of the Government to interest itself in the welfare of certain parts of Bohemia, especially the southern and eastern parts, where, for lack of industry, the people were forced to depend for their livelihood, almost exclusively, on the fruits of the fields. This poverty was increased by overtaxation and frequent failures of crops. It was precisely these parts of Bohemia that sent thousands of their best citizens to America about 1870, and are sending a still greater number at the present time.

It will be impossible to give the exact number of Bohemian immigrants to the United States, as the Immigration Bureau up to the year 1881 enrolled all immigrants that came from any province of Austria as Austrians, and even after 1881, many Bohemians were listed as Austrians. As later immi- gration reports in which Bohemians were entered separately show that one-third of all immigrants from Austria come from Bohemia, the total mmiber of Bohemians who came to this country before 1881 may be estimated approximately. It must be stated, however, that after 1881 many immigrants from Mora\ia and Silesia, Austrian pro\'ince3 in which the Bohemian language is spoken, were enrolled as Bohe- mians. Taking all these facts into consideration, it is safe to give the number of foreign born Bohe- mians in the United States as 222,000. The number of American-born Bohemians is about 310,000, making the total Bohemian population of the United States about 522,000. It is worthy of note that these figures are almost equally divided between males and females, which shows that the Bohemian immi- grants have come to this country to stay. Statistics prove that only a very small number of Bohemians return to their native country to live. In 1906, 12,958 Bohemian immigrants were received, eclipsing the record of all previous years. The latest report of the Commissioner of Immigration shows only two per cent of Bohemian immigrants illiterate, as com- pared with four per- cent of Germans and still higher proportions for other nations. The foUoii\-ing table gives the approximate Bohemian population accord- ing to states: —

Number of Foreign Bohemians born

Illinois 115,000 40,000

New York 45,000 17,700

Ohio 43,000 16,200

Maryland 11,000

Nebraska 60,000 18,000